A PostGraduate Diploma in Legal Practice(commonly referred to as DLP) is a 9 months course designed to equip in service Advocates, prosecutors, judges, fresh law graduates and even court registrars with the necessary practical legal skills.
ILPD delivers a DLP programme in various modes:
· Part time (evening), Executive,weekend programmes. These are currently being conducted in kigali.
· Weekend programme in Musanze (Northern province)
· Full-time and weekend programme in Nyanza main campus (Southern province).
Our trainees attend class together from module 1-6 and they are divided according to their specialisation starting with module 7-9. They are divided into classes of advocates,judges, court registrars and prosecutors.
ILPD enrolls to DLP programme fresh law graduate from universities, in service legal practitioners who earlier along had no DLP .ILPD has been known for being a hub of attraction of trainees from Rwanda it self, Uganda, Kenya, Cameroon, Burundi, South sudan and many others are at all times welcomed.
This DLP training is conducted on clinical basis and socratic methods. Our trainees are challenged with day to day scenarios in form of legal problems which they thoroughly research and attempt on in groups and individual assignments, moot courts are conducted every Thursday of the week in order to achieve the level of perfection in court orall submissions and drafting court documents that we need in our students.
In carrying out weekly moot courts, a moot court room is specifically set apart for the purpose and is made a replica of an actual court. These moot court sessions are tailored on the basis of a hybrid Legal system, where common law and civil law principles and procedures are brought into play, in order to meet the demands of out trainees who are from both common law and civil law traditions. Roles are shared during sessions of moot court and some trainees stand in as courts registrars, clerks,judges and witnesses. This makes them get familiar with the life of court, erodes the fear of speaking in public, strengthens oratory skills, exudes confidence and elevates a trainee to a level of a strong character.
ILPD on various occassions during the DLP programme, it arranges study visits for trainees to selected areas as away of matching class work with reality. These study visits have previously been made to Rwanda Collection Services (prisons) especially those that are a home to international detainees, Rwanda Supreme and High Courts, Law firms and genocide memorial sites.
COURSE CONTENT:
The course content is designed to mentor heralds of law and justice as advocates, judges and prosecutors. This content split into modules and these include the following:
· General Legal Culture
· Interviewing and Negotiation
· Civil and commercial transactions
· Alternative Dispute Resolution
· Contract Drafting and Principles of Legislative Drafting
· The course of civil suit
· Criminal Process
· Practice management.
The detailed syllabus and examination rules and policies for passing the Course are given to each student upon arrival at ILPD.